


till then my windows ache

by sarahyyy



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 05:00:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3637644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahyyy/pseuds/sarahyyy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I want you to stay,” Enjolras says.</p><p>“I am already staying,” Grantaire points out, amused. “That’s why I’m here. You are very pretty, but I didn’t cross the city just to come to cuddle you for five minutes before making it back to my apartment to sleep.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	till then my windows ache

It’s bordering on 4 a.m. by the time he makes it back to Enjolras’ place after his shift at the bar, and he’s tired, he’s so tired he thinks he could probably fall asleep on his feet, but he smells like smoke and alcohol, and Enjolras probably wouldn’t appreciate it, would even keep quiet about not liking it in an effort to be a Good Boyfriend. Grantaire supposes he could sleep on the couch, but it takes only one look at Enjolras snoring lightly in bed, duvet resting loosely over him, before Grantaire’s making his way to the bathroom to take a quick shower instead.

He makes his way to bed as quietly as he can manage when he’s done with the shower, trying his best not to wake Enjolras up, even though they’ve done this a hundred times now and he hasn’t once been successful yet. As it is, Enjolras makes a sleepy noise the moment Grantaire lifts the covers, and then rolls over to curl around Grantaire when Grantaire slips in. 

“Go back to sleep,” Grantaire says softly, and presses a kiss to Enjolras’ hair when Enjolras starts nuzzling against his neck. 

“Wasn’t sure if you were coming tonight,” Enjolras mumbles, voice rough with sleep, and then presses his face closer to Grantaire’s neck. “You smell good.”

Grantaire’s lips lift slightly. “I used your shower gel,” he tells Enjolras. “I smell like you.”

Enjolras makes a happy noise and snuggles closer. “Ergo, you smell good,” he tells Grantaire. He’s quiet for awhile, but just when Grantaire thinks that Enjolras has fallen back to sleep, he murmurs, “Want to talk to you about something.” 

Grantaire turns to look at the clock on the bedside table on Enjolras’ side. “It can wait,” he tells Enjolras. “It’s almost five. Go back to sleep.”

Enjolras cranes his head up at that. “It’s important,” he tells Grantaire, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up. It doesn’t really work, judging by the yawn Enjolras lets out. “Need to tell you now so you can sleep on it,” he says, and then yawns again.

Grantaire smiles, because Enjolras is adorable when he’s sleepy. “Okay then, sleepyhead, let’s hear it.”

“I want you to stay,” Enjolras says.

“I am already staying,” Grantaire points out, amused. “That’s why I’m here. You are very pretty, but I didn’t cross the city just to come to cuddle you for five minutes before making it back to my apartment to sleep.”

“No, that’s not how I meant it,” Enjolras says, and attempts to blink the sleep out of himself while Grantaire laughs at him. “I mean- I think you should-” He lets out a yawn before he can finish his sentence, and ends up staring mournfully at Grantaire. “This is so hard. Why is this so hard?”

“Because it’s five in the morning and you’re very much the textbook example of someone who isn’t a morning person,” Grantaire tells him before he kisses him on the forehead. “Sleep.”

“I want you to move in with me,” Enjolras blurts out, and then relaxes against Grantaire. “There. I said it.”

Grantaire is suddenly very glad he took a shower, because it means that he’s more awake right now. He’s relatively certain he didn’t mishear, but it feels necessary to double-check. “What?” he croaks out.

“You don’t have to answer me now,” Enjolras says, and shifts to make himself comfortable against Grantaire. “That’s why I wanted to tell you first, so you can sleep on it.”

“Enjolras-”

He feels more than sees Enjolras shake his head. 

“Tell me tomorrow,” Enjolras says, breathing the words against Grantaire’s skin. He stretches up to press his lips to Grantaire’s jaw. “I’m going back to sleeping now,” he mumbles before settling against Grantaire. “Sleep with me, R.”

Grantaire blinks. Sleep suddenly feels like a really ridiculous notion when he has more important things to think about, but Enjolras is warm and comfortable, and it’s so easy to close his eyes and even out his breathing, to curl an arm over Enjolras and stop thinking.

He falls asleep within seconds.

—

He wakes up just as Enjolras is trying to slip out of bed and tugs him back by the arm until he’s leaning over Grantaire, smiling down at him. 

“It’s barely ten,” he tells Grantaire, and then kisses him softly. “I was going to start making breakfast. I’ll wake you up when it’s done, go back to sleep,” he says, and makes a move to go again.

Grantaire groans and reaches out to pull Enjolras down until he’s lying horizontal on the bed, and rests his head on Enjolras’ chest to keep him from moving out of bed again. 

“‘Morning,” he mumbles before turning to press a kiss to the centre of Enjolras’ chest. “Give my brain a second to wake up.”

Enjolras huffs a laugh. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to sleep?” he asks. “You love sleeping in on weekends.”

Grantaire shakes his head and then moves off Enjolras’ chest back to the pillow. “Can we talk about last night?” he asks, turning to look at Enjolras. “You asked me to- To-”

“Move in with me?” Enjolras finishes for him. “Yeah, I did.”

“Huh,” Grantaire says. “I didn’t dream that up after all.”

Enjolras rolls his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about it for awhile,” he confesses, and gives Grantaire a tiny smile. “I like having you around.”

Grantaire likes being around too. He loves coming back to Enjolras after a long day at work, loves that they’re comfortable enough with each other that sometimes they just lounge on the couch and watch shitty TV shows together quietly, loves that Enjolras is handsy and tactile in private. 

He thinks about living with Enjolras, thinks about calling Enjolras’ apartment _home_ , and it’s not a bad thought, not at all, but-

“Oh,” Enjolras says, disappointed. “You’re going to say no.”

Grantaire doesn’t even bother to deny it, because they’ve only been able to make it this far in their relationship because they decided really early on that they weren’t going to lie to each other or keep secrets from each other. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” he says, reaching out to tangle their fingers together. “I just- I really like how things are between us right now, and I’m not… _good_ with change.”

“Okay,” Enjolras says quietly, but he doesn’t look happy about it, and Grantaire almost wants to change his mind, just because it would make Enjolras look happier. 

He sighs instead and says, “It’s not because I don’t love you, or because I’m not committed to our relationship, you know that, right?” At Enjolras’ slow nod, he continues, “I just like that we both have our spaces right now. This way when we fight, and we inevitably do at least every once in awhile because we’re us, I can stew in my apartment alone, and you can vent by playing bad music loudly in yours. And I don’t have to worry about you getting tired of me being around all the time, because I’m not here all the time.”

“But I won’t,” Enjolras protests, tightening his grip on Grantaire’s hand. “I won’t get tired of you being around all the time. I’m not even sure if that’s possible.” 

Grantaire smiles at that, because Enjolras sounds _petulant_ , more like he’s protesting for the sake of protesting and not like he’s actively trying to change Grantaire’s mind, which means that he understands Grantaire’s point. “It is,” Grantaire says. “I promise it is, no matter how much you love me.”

“Which is a lot,” Enjolras says, lips twitching.

“Which is a lot,” Grantaire concedes with a laugh. “I’m not saying that this is something that’s completely off the table forever. Just…not now? Maybe we can work our way up to it. We’ll start with me staying over a bit more often, okay?”

Enjolras nods. “I’d like that,” he tells Grantaire, before shuffling closer to Grantaire to kiss him. “I love you,” he tells Grantaire when he pulls away.

“A lot,” Grantaire adds, grinning at him. “Yeah, I got that memo.” He closes his eyes as he brings their joined hands up to kiss Enjolras’ hand. “If I go back to sleep now, will you still make me breakfast like the amazing boyfriend I know you are?”

Enjolras snorts and swats him lightly. “If you’re not asleep, you help with making breakfast. House rules.” 

“Well, if they’re _house rules_ …” Grantaire drawls, and allows Enjolras to drag him out of bed, laughing as they make their way into the kitchen.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Neruda's Sonnet LXV, because again, when in doubt, Pablo Neruda is your friend. 
> 
> I'm [here on Tumblr](http://sarah-yyy.tumblr.com/), come say hi!


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